


Roll for Charisma

by Sparkling_Starway



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Burning, Dismemberment, DnD AU, F/F, Fantasy AU, Gen, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Suicidal Thoughts, Undertale AU, Violence, a bunch of other characters appear but theyre minor in comparison-ill prolly tag em as they show up, mettaton has prosthetics, please ask to tag, probably some mentions of:, religious aspects, typical dnd fare tbh, uh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:08:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24907369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sparkling_Starway/pseuds/Sparkling_Starway
Summary: The classic story of a farm boy going off to make a name for himself, dying, and ending up helping a lizard scientist and going on a journey to collect cool science things with her, a fish warrior, and a literal skeleton. A fantasy au that takes place in a D&D-like world that focuses on Mettaton, as well as Alphys, Undyne, and Papyrus. The gang gets into many classic campaign shenanigans- seducing a dragon, getting ridiculously lucky or unlucky, or finding bizarre solutions to simple problems. Good thing Mettaton dumped all his points into charisma.
Relationships: Alphys & Mettaton (Undertale), Alphys & Papyrus (Undertale), Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Mettaton & Undyne (Undertale), Mettaton/Papyrus (Undertale), Papyrus & Undyne (Undertale)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 24





	1. The Life and Death of Our Hero

**Author's Note:**

> Before this starts, I would like to give a quick warning: a section of this chapter does portray some potentially upsetting violence, where Mettaton gets attacked. While he just gets burned while conscious, he does end up losing his limbs, and I want to make sure.  
> While you will be missing a bit of backstory, it's not absolutely necessary to enjoy the story. If you want to skip that part, skip from the "~~" to the line break, or skip the entire first part until the line break. If you want to avoid the inevitable amputation-related shock and trauma, it's best if you just skip this entire chapter.
> 
> With that, please enjoy!

In a world full of fantastical, weird creatures, farming cows or sheep wasn’t very interesting. This is at least true for one family of tieflings, living on the uncreatively named Waterfall River. Instead of something basic like pigs or chicken, they farmed flail snails.

While regular flail snails were large and potentially dangerous due to their habit of moving often, consuming almost everything, and also, of course, the fact that their stalks were tipped with sharp flails, the farmers had managed to breed a much safer variation. These flail snails, lovingly named spike snails, were smaller, didn’t migrate, and had thorny stalks instead. Unfortunately there were drawbacks to this as well, but none that made the business any less successful. Their shells, meat, and mucus were in decent demand, so the family was living quite well.

Except for one member, that is.

While he did love the snails, he wanted more. He felt trapped in a dead-end job of farming snails all day, collecting mucus and throwing dirt. He always wanted to travel to a larger town, far away, and start a new life, for himself.

It was always just a dream. Until one night, sitting in his room and staring out the window, when he was deep in thought. He snapped. He had had enough, and nothing was going to change unless he acted.

He hurriedly packed a bag full of extra clothes, snacks, and some currency. He was going to do this! He was going to go off on his own, and make a name for himself! He opened his window, adrenaline coursing through him, and jumped out.

Being on the second floor, he hit the ground rather hard. He knocked the wind out of himself and bit his tongue upon impact. Idiot.

He took a few moments to gather himself and make sure he hadn’t woken up the others. While he knew he should say goodbye, he didn’t want to change his mind. If he stopped now, he’d be stuck here longer.

He brushed himself off and walked off the farm, on the road to the nearby small town.

He had gone this path many times on trips to sell goods on Mondays and Thursdays. It was technically a Friday now- he didn’t want his family to scramble to be his replacement while worrying about him. He began to feel guilty for leaving so suddenly again, but pushed the thought away and focused on walking.

He slowed upon seeing the town sign: Grotto, directly south. Capital City, however, was to the east. He hesitated. This was it- his chance. He let out a breath and turned, following the road to Capital City.

He soon lost track of time. He just knew he had been walking for a long enough time for his feet to be hurting quite badly. He knew he should’ve tried to find a horse or carriage or something, even if it did mean spending most of his money. He ended up plopping down on the side of the road to take a break, rummaging through his backpack for snacks.

He rubbed his face a bit. It was hotter than he was used to, living so close to the water, and he was already pretty tired. This was definitely not a good sign, but he was determined to get somewhere.

~~

He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He twisted to look behind him, suddenly nervous. He quickly scooped up his pack and started walking again. It hurt, but he didn’t want to risk anything, and wanted to leave the growing feeling of dread behind.

He soon felt it again. He instinctively froze up, spinning around. Seeing nothing, he went to turn back around, only to have a hand smacked over his mouth, silencing him. He instantly attempted to scream, struggling in his assailant’s grip. They were too strong, and he heard a voice from somewhere else behind him.

“Are they struggling too much?” Despite his situation, he couldn’t help but the well-known pang of discomfort at “they.”

"Feisty one.”

“Just use the acid, that’ll quiet ‘em.”

The feeling of dread grew stronger. He struggled more, trying to bite the hand covering his mouth. He thought for a moment he had succeeded when the hand moved, only to slap over his right eye, and the skin under it burned. The pain was intense, clouding his thoughts. He couldn't concentrate, and couldn’t move, and then, everything went black.

* * *

Coming back to consciousness was odd. He felt very sluggish and disorientated, and couldn’t recall what happened. He slowly forced his eye open, blinking to clear his blurry vision.

He was in an uncomfortable bed, covered by a thin sheet. The room itself was rather bare- it only had a small bedside table and lantern, as well as a small dresser on the other side. The door across from him was closed.

This was not his room.

He quickly sat up in realization, and flinched. His entire body ached, and his limbs felt heavy. He attempted to lift an arm, only to see the glint of metal.

He looked over and gasped. Where his arm had been was now a sleek, silvery-blue robotic replacement. He noticed the attachment at his shoulder and felt his stomach drop. He huffed and managed to push off the blanket with some trouble, due to not being used to having a robot arm, and realized not only his arm had been replaced, but both of them, as well as his legs below the knee.

He screamed.

What the hell had happened? Had he been kidnapped? Why couldn’t he open his right eye? Why did everything hurt so much? The last thing he remembered was-

He heard skittering outside the door. He quickly looked around for something he could use to defend himself and settled on the lantern, managing to grip it.

The door opened, and a small, golden-scaled dragonborn peeked in. He screamed and attempted to throw the lantern, only smacking it onto the floor. It scared the dragonborn anyways, causing her to squeak and quickly close the door again.

“S-sorry, I heard you scream and- and I thought you... “ he heard her sigh, “...I’m-I’m not going to hurt you. Can I come in?”

He hesitated. He didn’t have much of a choice, in the end. “...Fine.”

She cautiously opened the door again and cautiously stepped inside. “S-so, um. I’m sure you’re really confused…”

“I wake up and my arms and legs are gone, of course I am!” He attempted to pick up a pillow, getting quite frustrated and blinking back building tears.

“Okay, it looks bad for me, I-I know.” The dragonborn let out a breath. “...I found you like that. You- um… you weren’t... alive.”

“..What?”

“It’s a long story okay! And, um… I was shocked and wasn’t thinking so, I kind of um… revived you with a spell and… brought you back here and uh-” She wrung her hands, looking very anxious. “I… patched you up and um… built you… those.” She gestured to his arm.

He took a moment to process that information before sighing. “This is… a whole lot to take in, you know. It’s… it’s going to take me a bit…”

“I-I know. Well, what… what do you remember?”

“The last thing I remember is that I was walking, and… someone attacked me from behind, and they- they…” he trailed off, shakily bringing a cool metal hand to the right side of his face. He flinched, feeling a shock of pain. 

“Oh…” she frowned, eyes widening in horrified realization. “You were… a victim of those bandits, then.” She went quiet for a moment. “I’m- I’m so sorry. I- I’ve heard how they were brutal but- I never saw...”

He didn’t respond, looking down. After a moment of silence, he asked, “You say you fixed me up?”

“Y-yeah, I-I don’t... I just-” she gave up and shrugged. “I’ve been meaning to do something with those spare parts, and I figured...”

“Thank you,” he said quietly, flexing an arm curiously, “I’m-” he hesitated. This was his chance. He could start a new life. He hated himself for reminding himself of such a selfish goal after all this, but pushed that thought away. “I’m... Mettaton.”

The dragonborn smiled slightly, but still looked nervous. “I’m, uh… Alphys. Doctor Alphys. You don’t- you don’t need to call me that though, if you... uh-” She noticed his smile and stopped. “You’ll... still need to recover, and, uh, get used to your… new limbs. I’m not about to kick you out, obviously, so, um. If you… don’t mind, of course, you should… stay here.”

Mettaton sighed. He had just met her, he just had a good feeling about the doctor. He probably shouldn’t have, considering his situation, but she seemed kind enough, and it’s not like he had much of a choice. “Thank you, Doctor.”

She blushed slightly at that, and Mett felt a little bad- was she not used to being called “doctor”? “O-of course! Do you, uh, need anything..?”

“Besides time to register all this, I think I really need more rest…” His eyelids still felt very heavy, and he knew he would pass out soon.

“Of course… I’ll uh… check on you later then…” She went to leave, but turned and put the slightly cracked lantern back onto the bedside table. “Sleep well..!”

Mett smiled with a nod, and she left, closing the door behind her. He let out a sigh and carefully shuffled back into a lying position, pulling the blanket back up.

What the hell was he going to do now?


	2. Plot Time!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few months later, Mettaton has gotten used to life with Alphys.

A few months had passed, and Mettaton and Alphys had become pretty good friends. After all, Mettaton didn’t have much else to do during his recovery, and she was quite enjoyable to talk to.

Alphys’ place was rather small, but felt like home after a short time. The actual living quarters consisted of two bedrooms, an open kitchen/living room, and a bathroom. Downstairs, however, was the real centerpiece of her home: her lab. She always had some weird things going on down there, most of which Mettaton didn’t really understand, but sat around for Alphys to bounce ideas off of. They both spent most of their time there, talking and doing science things.

Mettaton had also found an interesting collection of stories during his stay. Of course he read them, since he didn’t have much else to do, and needed material if he wanted to go through with his dreams of being a bard. They were all pretty ridiculous, but he found himself enjoying them anyways. Alphys seemed to be embarrassed when she caught him with them, but they soon bonded over their favorites.

After a long enough recovery period, Mett had started to go into the nearby town of Coran often, and soon, got a job at the local tavern. While it took a bit to get used to, he loved performing there, happily obliging to the frequent drunken demands for encores. His popularity was growing, and eventually, people stopped by just to see him perform.

Something stopped him from leaving the town or Alphys, however. He wasn’t sure what it was- a fear of travelling alone after what had put him in this situation, the feeling of gratitude, or the feeling that it was his duty to entertain the townsfolk, or a combination of those.

That was about to change soon.

It started one late night when he arrived back at Alphys’ after work. He was exhausted and was looking very forward to sleeping in the next morning. A loud, sudden sound from the lab stopped him from going to his room right away. He stopped and tried to peer through the door. He knew Alphys also stayed up rather late, despite his somewhat hypocritical advice, but something still felt odd about this. The glow of a lantern prompted him to step inside, causing Alphys, who had been hunched over a worktable, to jump.

“OH GODS-” She spun around, a hand on her chest. “M-Mett, I’ve told you to knock..!”

“Sorry, dear, I just heard something.” He leaned against the doorframe, trying to look over her shoulder at the table. “What’re you doing down here so late?”

“I, uh, lost track of time,” she admitted, turning back around to adjust something. “I was just… really focused on this.”

“What is it?”   


“Well, uh, I’m not sure, actually.”

Mettaton furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”

“Okay, it’s a long story,” Alphys sighed. “So, uh, a while back, I found these weird… carvings and stuff, in the nearby mountain. I was looking into them when I found… blueprints.”

“Blueprints? For what?”

“That’s the thing, I don’t know! I’ve been working on recovering most of the instructions and stuff, cause they’ve been eroded away over time. All I know is that this could be something big- lost advanced ancient technology!” Her tail thumped against the ground as she explained. “And now I think I’m close to finally recovering the final set of instructions I need!”

“That’s great, darling,” Mett replied, bringing up a hand to stifle a yawn. 

“It’s more than great! If… if I can build this, I could... I could potentially really help people. Even if that’s not what this thing is originally supposed to do, I’m positive I could somehow find a way to use this sort of technology to do that.” She stacked a pile of papers haphazardly and went over to him. “And do you know what the best part is?”   
  
“What’s that?” 

“This stuff… it’s kind of similar to robotics and wiring. That’s the stuff I’m good at! As you could, uh, probably guess.” She gestured to his arms. “But anyways, that should make this so much easier!”   


“I’m excited for you, dear.”

“So am I! If everything goes well, it should only be a couple weeks at the most until I’m done with the instructions, and then I can finally start working on the actual thing! And even then- HEY!” She cut herself off as Mettaton scooped her up suddenly. “What’re you doing?”

“You’ll probably make mistakes if you don’t get enough rest, Doctor.” He began heading upstairs, carrying her bridal style. “It’s late and I’m tired, so I might as well make sure you go to bed too.”

“I was working!”

“And now you’ll be sleeping.”

“I-!” She tried to wiggle out of his grip, but he was pretty strong. By the time she gave up, they had reached her room. Mettaton nudged the door open with his foot and carried her inside, setting her down carefully on the bed.

“There. Get some sleep, Alphys.” He crossed his arms, expecting her to argue. 

She sighed in defeat. “Fiiiine…”

“Thank you, dear.” He leaned back down and gave her a quick hug before heading to the door. “Goodnight, Al.”

“Night, Mettaton.”

* * *

The next few weeks were pretty normal- Mettaton went out often, whether it be just to go into town or to go to work, and Alphys spent lots of time in her lab, even if it was more than usual, absorbed in her newest project. Mettaton had almost forgotten about it, actually.

That changed, however, when one morning, he was woken up by Alphys throwing open his door.

“METTATON, I GOT IT!!”

He screamed, obviously surprised, and in his confusion, threw a pillow at her.

“Ow-!” It had hit her face, and she huffed before picking it up and throwing it back at him.

“Alphys, dear, pardon my language when I ask, and with all due respect,  _ what the fuck _ .” He blinked, quickly trying to fix his messy hair.

“I got the list of stuff I need for the thing!”   
  
Mett started at her for a moment before laying back down and covering himself with his sheets. “Either that made zero sense, or it’s too early for this.”

“It’s ten in the morning.”

“Exactly. I’m surprised you’re awake-” he then groaned, sitting back up. “Did you stay up all night again?”

“No, actually, I ended up passing out at like four, and woke up with the papers I needed right in front of my face.”

He sighed. “Okay just- try explaining whatever you’re excited about again, but in a way I can understand.”

“Okay, so, remember the blueprints I told you about the other night? Well I finally figured out the instructions!”

“Oh, that’s wonderful. Can I go back to sleep now?”

“Actually, no,” she replied with an eye roll. “We need to go get the components I need for this.”

Mett groaned again, knowing she probably meant “we” as in “Mettaton has to carry it all.” “Fine… we just go shopping, and then I can-”

“Well, that’s the thing. Some of this stuff I have, the others…” she trailed off a bit, “...well, uh, some can only be gotten in certain parts of the kingdom, actually, so we’re going to have to go travelling for a bit.”

“...Oh.” Mett’s thoughts raced as he registered that statement. Travelling across the kingdom? In a way, that was his dream..! Something, however, kept him from jumping at the opportunity. He didn’t even like travelling alone into town, much less ever any further. Sure, he’d be travelling with Alphys, but… “Are you sure we need to? Couldn’t you just… order some through the mail?”

“No, this is rare, precious stuff.” She noticed his worried expression and frowned. “Oh. Hey, listen. You’re stronger now, and you’ll have me. Nothing bad will happen as long as we’re careful, alright?”

He didn’t respond, doubting her words. That’s what he had foolishly believed before, but, then again, he wasn’t as careful as he maybe should’ve been…

“So, please, Mettaton?” She clasped her claws together. “This would mean so much to me. Besides, you wanted to be known across the kingdom, right? We don’t have to constantly travel from place to place, so you could use some of our time to… I don’t know, do cool things?”

Mettaton was silent for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh. “Fine, I’ll go. On one condition.”

“Please don’t bring too many bags-”

He laughed at that, cheering up a bit. “No, no. If we’re going to be out on our own, I’d feel better if we had someone else with us, as backup, I guess. So, we’re going to go ask for someone strong to come, too.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea, actually. Do you know anyone in particular, or-?” Alphys cut herself off upon seeing Mettaton’s smirk. “Oh no. Mettaton I can’t ask her something like that, I-I don’t know if she’d even want to spend so much time with me, out on the road, I-”   


“Fine. If you won’t ask her, I will.” He flung his sheets up, hopping out of bed and walking past her to the dresser.   


“OH GODS PLEASE DON’T. I-” She sighed. “...Fine. I’ll ask Undyne.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The actual adventure starts next chapter! Hope y'all enjoyed.


	3. Undyne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mettaton and Alphys try to recruit Undyne! Sans is here too I guess

* * *

The tavern was busy for a warm spring afternoon, and a little uncomfortable. Most of the patrons there were stopping in to meet someone or just relax for a bit. Mettaton and Alphys sat at a small table, facing the triton paladin they had wanted to meet.

“Listen,” Undyne sighed, supporting her head with her hand, “I can’t just abandon Grotto to go mess around the kingdom for a few months. Especially not-” she cut herself off, glancing at Mettaton, who stared back knowingly “...with such little warning.”

Alphys frowned, fidgeting with her hands under the table. “I’m sorry, it’s just really important to me. It’s- It’s okay if you don’t come, but, um, I just thought-”

“Dear,” Mettaton interrupted, holding up a finger. “Let me.” Alphys rolled her eyes, knowing what was about to happen. “Undyne, you’re a very kind and strong person. Doctor Alphys has a huge cr- amount of trust in you. We both could use you travelling with us, and after all, you do such a great job protecting others. Unless…” he trailed off, looking to the side, “you’re not up for a little adventure.”

“What?” Undyne raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms as she leaned back in her chair.

“I’m sure you’re very busy,” Mettaton continued with a hum, examining his metal nails. “I wouldn’t want to drag you away from important work… I’m sure I could do a good enough job protecting Alphys myself.”

“What, you think you’d be able to now?” Undyne asked, holding back a laugh. “You came in here to ask me to protect you.”

“That’s what I came here for, yes. But it appears you’re far too busy… I suppose Alphys’ safety will rest in my cold but beautiful metal hands.”

“You are one petty, manipulative weirdo.” She glared at him.

“It’s a gift, darling~”

“Well. Reverse psychology won’t convince me,” she huffed, leaning forwards. “You’re going to have to convince me that you won’t be relying completely on me and begging for help the whole time.”

“How would you like me to do that, then?” Mettaton raised an eyebrow.

Undyne grinned, suddenly slamming her arm on the table. “Arm wrestling, duh.”

Alphys scooted her chair back, knowing this was probably going to quickly escalate. Mettaton just gave her a sly smile in return, also bringing an arm up. 

“Now, you’ll have to go easy on me, Undyne. After all, I’m still not completely used t- OW!” He yelped as Undyne quickly slammed his arm down onto the table. “I wasn’t ready.”

“That’s the thing. You need to always be alert and ready.”

“You just wanted to do that, didn’t you?”  
  
Undyne shrugged with a smirk, lifting her forearm again. “Say the word, then.”

Mettaton grabbed her hand tightly. He stared her in the eye, and smiled. “Go.” 

Undyne seemed a little surprised at the force he had fought her with. It wasn’t too surprising for Mettaton, however- metal was pretty strong. However, Undyne soon slammed his hand down and gave him a sharp grin.

“Wanna go best out of five?” she taunted.

“No, I want to try something less weighed in your favor,” he replied, shaking his arm instinctively. “How well can you dance?”

“That is absolutely not happening, Mettaton. Besides, I don’t want to do something ‘weighed in your favor’ either.” Undyne rolled her eye. “Let’s do some sword fighting.”

“I have held a sword twice in my life. I suggest-”

“Guys, please,” Alphys interrupted. “Undyne, I would, uh, really appreciate it if you did come along…”

Undyne looked to her for a moment before sighing. “What are you even looking for, anyways?”

“Just… various parts. It’d be much easier to go with some… friends, than to pay someone to deliver them. Besides, I don’t know, it could be fun..! Potential bonding moments, I guess.” Alphys adjusted her glasses nervously, her voice trailing off slightly.

A small blush grew on Undyne’s cheeks before she sighed again. “Alright, fine, I’ll come.” She turned to Mettaton. “This is because of her, not because of you. In fact, since we’ll be spending a lot of time together, expect me to challenge you more.”

“Bring it on, darling~” Mettaton grinned.  
  
“Don’t call me that.”

“Do you prefer sweetheart?”  
  
“Alphys, I’ll be counting on you to keep me from punching him.”

“Please don’t do that,” Alphys said quietly. “Anyways, um, do you want to get lunch, or-”

“You two go ahead, I have somewhere to be soon,” Mettaton quickly answered, standing. “I’ll see you back at your place, Al~!”

“Um-” Alphys glanced at Undyne, realizing why he was so urgent to leave. “You little-”

“BYE-BYE DARLINGS~!” He sprinted out of the tavern with a quick wave.

“I have no idea how you put up with him all the time,” Undyne huffed. Alphys just sighed.

* * *

Later, in the town, Mettaton was wandering. He wished he did have plans, but he didn’t mind watching all the townspeople go about their days too much. He was sitting on a bench, minding his own business, when he heard a voice next to him.

“Hey, you’re the bard at the tavern here, yeah?”  
  
He jumped, looking in the direction of the voice. A short skeleton who had not been there seconds before was sitting next to him.

“...Yes, that’s me. Where the hell did you come from?” Mettaton asked bluntly, a little creeped out.

“Oh, y’know. Live in the Silver Forest,” the skeleton answered with a shrug, as if that explained everything.

“That’s… a bit away from Coran.”

“Yeah, I travel a bit. I work a lot. Prefer to not do that, though.” He winked. “Oh, yeah, ‘m Sans.”

“...Mettaton.”

“I know. You’re pretty well known in this town. Grotto too.” Mettaton’s breath hitched slightly at the mention of the town he used to travel to often. Hopefully, no one would connect the dots if they knew of him. “Once took my brother here to see you. He hates this town for some reason. Loved seeing you, though.”

“Oh, uh, that’s nice.”

“Yeah, he’s cool. Anyways. Just wanted to say hi. Tell ya you do good. See you around.” The skeleton got up and left, soon disappearing from Mettaton’s sight and leaving him there dumbfounded.

* * *

Later that day, Undyne and Alphys entered Alphys’ place to find Mettaton draping himself dramatically over a chair.

“Hello again, dear,” he said, giving Alphys a wave. “Hello, Undyne.”

“How long were you sitting there?” Alphys asked.

“Too long. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed yourselves.”

“We did, actually. We also actually planned our little adventure instead of wandering around and looking pretty,” Undyne replied, crossing her arms.

Mettaton brought a hand to his chest, pretending to be offended. “I’ll have you know, dear, that looking as beautiful as I is very hard work.”

“Sure. Anyways. We leave in two days. In the meantime I’ll settle things and let some of my contacts know, so they can help us.”

“I’m going to do a little more research to get a better idea of exactly what I need,” Alphys added. “You can…” she hesitated a moment, “help pack and practice being charming.”

“I don’t need practice, dear, it comes naturally.” Mettaton grinned. “Sounds like a plan.”

“However, I have one condition,” Undyne raised a finger and smiled, already taking charge. “I’ll meet you two in Grotto. I refuse to be here any longer than I need to be. It’s too dry here.”

Mettaton hesitated. He hadn’t been to Grotto since he ran away. He glanced at Alphys, who gave him a slightly pleading look. He sighed. “Alright. Sounds like a plan.”

“Cool. I’ll see you two then. Bye, Alph!”

“Bye, Undyne…”

Undyne grinned and left. Alphys sighed, clearly yearning. Mettaton crossed his arms and pouted.

“I don’t get a goodbye?”

“Shut up, Mettaton.”


	4. PAPYRUS!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mettaton and Alphys head to Grotto, where they pick up Undyne, along with a new party member.

The trip to Grotto was not something Mettaton enjoyed. It was a particularly hot day, so the carriage they were taking was very warm inside, but it was better than walking. It was also rather early, at least for him, and he would’ve preferred to be back in bed. The worst part by far, though, was the overwhelming anxiety.

Mettaton usually wasn’t a very anxious person. Over the course of his time with Alphys, his self-confidence had boosted tremendously. He felt comfortable with himself now. The thought of having to go back home and face the consequences of his actions was quite a lot to handle.

“Hey,” Alphys spoke up, having noticed how quiet he was. “Are you okay?”

He sighed, fiddling with his hair in a vain attempt to calm his nerves. “I’m just… worried.”

“About going back..?”   
  
“Yeah.”

Alphys was quiet for a moment as she thought of what to say. “We probably won’t stay very long. We’re just picking up Undyne and moving on, alright? Besides… if it helps, you look pretty different from when I first brought you in.”

“Yeah, I suppose.” Mettaton looked out of the carriage. She was right, he did look pretty different. More than just his limbs had changed. He owed Alphys so much, thinking back on it now. She had saved his life, gave him a place to stay, and even helped his transition. He had to build up his confidence and pray no one recognized him, for her. He did his best to steel himself as they passed by increasingly familiar landmarks.

Before Mettaton knew it, they had arrived at Grotto, and headed straight for Undyne’s house. Influence spreading or not, Mettaton wanted to spend the least amount of time possible in town. Alphys didn’t protest- this was an important trip for her. The sooner they got going, the better.

Undyne’s house was off the shore of one of many of Grotto’s ponds. It was a nice little cottage-like building, and reminded Mettaton slightly of a fish. Mettaton gently pushed Alphys forward, and she gave him a small glare before knocking.

“One sec!” Undyne called from inside.

“Oh, who’s here?” a second, loud and unfamiliar voice asked.

Undyne’s response was incomprehensible, but she sounded vaguely annoyed. A moment later, she opened the door with a wide grin. “Heya Alph!” She hesitated for a moment. “Mettaton.”

“Good to see you too, dear,” Mettaton responded with a smirk.

Alphys sighed. “H-hey, Undyne. Are you, uh, ready?”

“In a moment. I was clearing things up with my-” she glanced back for a moment, “house guardian.”

“You need someone to watch your house..?” Alphys asked.

“Yeah. This baby burns down easily. Not sure how long I’ll be gone either. You guys wanna come in before we go?”

“Um, sure, but we should get going soon-”

“A quick rest before continuing would be nice,” Mettaton interrupted her. “Thank you.”

“Sweet.” Undyne led them inside. The inside of her house was rather small- she had her living area and kitchen in one nice, larger room. What caught Mettaton’s attention right away, however, was the fact that there was a skeleton sitting at her table.

Skeletons were pretty rare to come across, so two in just a few days was super strange to see. The one before had mentioned a brother, hadn’t he? Maybe they were related. They did look rather different, however. The skeleton from the other day had been rather short and round, while the skeleton in front of him right now was taller, more… well, he didn’t realize skeletons could look strong, but the one here sure did.

“Oh, hello!” the skeleton greeted them with a wave.

“Oh, hey again, Papyrus,” Alphys smiled slightly as she waved back. She knew him? “You know Mettaton-”

“Yes I’ve noticed that your friend is Mettaton.” Papyrus’ smile grew as he turned to Undyne. “Undyne, you didn’t tell me you were going on vacation with Mettaton too!” Vacation? 

“Uh yeah. He kinda invited himself.” Undyne shrugged, glancing at the two new arrivals as if to beg them to not bring up the vacation thing.

“Alphys invited me,” Mettaton corrected, crossing his arms before smiling back at Papyrus. “Pleased to meet you, dear.”

“Oh no,” Papyrus muttered, suddenly looking a little shocked and slightly embarrassed. “I haven’t even introduced myself and it already happened. Must I be so charming? It’s a curse.” He took a breath before adjusting his position and looking back at Mettaton. “Anyways. I’m Papyrus! You probably don’t remember me but I was at that one performance where you accidentally slapped someone while dancing!”

Ah yes, that show. He remembered clearly when he had “accidentally” slapped that rather rude customer who kept trying to make a move on him the whole time. He thought for a moment before snapping. “Ah, yes, I think I remember seeing you there, actually! You.. stood out, of course.”

“Oh, of course I did! I stand out easily. I am rather great and hard to miss, after all,” Papyrus agreed, bringing a hand to his chest. “Anyways, it’s great to meet you! It’s probably great for you to meet me, too, as I am a great friend.” Mettaton couldn’t help but chuckle at that. He was rather charming, even if he was a bit self-centered. Not that Mettaton could say that without being a hypocrite. “But yes! I have taken up the difficult task only someone of my skill could handle of protecting Undyne’s house while she’s away on vacation!” He then frowned slightly. “I sort of wish I could come, but I have a job to do!”   
  
“Vacation?” Mettaton asked, ignoring Undyne’s frantic waving behind Papyrus. “We’re going on a quest, I wouldn’t call it vacation, dear.”

“A quest..?” Papyrus sounded confused. “What kind of quest?”   
  
“A QUEST FOR THE BEST VACATION-!” Undyne tried to say.

“We’re helping Alphys find… weird science parts around the kingdom,” Mettaton answered, raising an eyebrow at Undyne’s actions. “Why would you think it was a vacation?”

“...Because that’s what Undyne told me,” Papyrus said quietly, his cheerful tone fading. He turned to look at Undyne. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”

Undyne sighed before giving a weak shrug, looking rather defeated.

“Well… I’m sure you had a good reason..!” Papyrus said suddenly, standing up. “However, this means I absolutely HAVE to go with you!”

“Papyrus-” Undyne began to argue.

“Too late, I’ve made up my mind! If you’re going on a dangerous quest, you’ll need someone as strong and as great as me!” He brought a foot up onto Undyne’s table to pose heroically.

“...Fine. You can come,” Undyne sighed, knowing she wouldn’t be able to convince him otherwise. “Let’s… get some drinks and snacks, and we’ll get going.”

Later, Undyne and Alphys were alone together outside. Mettaton had made sure of it- he seemed interested in talking to Papyrus more anyways, so they stayed inside. There was an awkward silence for a few moments before Alphys finally spoke up.

“So, um, what was with the vacation thing..?”

Undyne gave a deep sigh as she slumped against the side of her house. “It’s a long story. To put it short, I’m… worried for Pap, alright? He’s too nice.” She looked off at the other shore of the pond. “You’ve seen how people can be out there. He wouldn’t last a minute against them.”

“Oh…” Alphys didn’t know how to feel about that, and decided to drop it. “So, uh, thanks for coming along. Again.”

“Of course, Al,” Undyne replied, looking back to her with a smile. “It’s nice, helping you.” She blushed after the words came out. “I mean. It’s nice helping you. And other people. I like helping. You’re not any less important though.”

“Um, th-thanks.” Alphys was also blushing rather brightly. “I… I like helping you too..?”

There was an awkward, gay silence.

“So, uh, we should probably get going. Drag those nerds out,” Undyne coughed, straightening up.

“Oh, uh, yeah. Right.”

Undyne smiled at her before kicking her own door open, probably bringing it one step closer to falling off its hinges. “YO NERDS, WE’RE GOIN’!”

“Ah-” Mettaton, who had been staring at Papyrus as he rambled on about some of his amazing skills, looked up, a little startled. “Well, you can tell me more stories on our trip then, darling?”

“Oh, of course, I’d love to!” Papyrus grinned as he got down from the table, which he had fully climbed on. “I am a great storyteller!”   
  
“I can see that.” Mettaton stood, going to follow him as he left. Undyne suddenly brought an arm out to block his exit.

“Hey. Listen. I see how you looked at him,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “If you end up smoochin’, good for you. But I swear, if you break his heart or somethin, I’ll beat the shit out of you.”

Mettaton couldn’t help but look a little offended. “I would never intentionally do such a thing, dear. Trust me. I suggest you calm down a little, though, Papyrus seems perfectly capable of taking care of himself.” He smirked and pushed her arm away before leaving, going to talk to Alphys.

Undyne frowned. Why the hell should she calm down? She wasn’t being too overprotective.

Right?

She sighed and joined the others, and the group set off.   



End file.
